Cyber-Affairs "What's the Big Deal?" Therapeutic Considerations

It can be estimated that 50-60% of married men and 45-55% of married women engage in extramarital sex at some time or another during their marriage and almost half come to therapy because of it. On-line infidelity accounts for a growing trend in reasons given for divorce according to the President o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of couple & relationship therapy Vol. 4; no. 2-3; pp. 117 - 134
Main Author Atwood, Joan D.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Taylor & Francis Group 13.09.2005
Subjects
cyber-affairs
cyber-flirting
cyber-sex
Infidelity
virtual cheating
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Summary:It can be estimated that 50-60% of married men and 45-55% of married women engage in extramarital sex at some time or another during their marriage and almost half come to therapy because of it. On-line infidelity accounts for a growing trend in reasons given for divorce according to the President of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and it is believed that it has been greatly underestimated. Because of the unfamiliarity and newness of this type of infidelity, mental health professionals are often unfamiliar with the dynamics associated with the concept of cyber-affairs and "virtual cheating." Many in fact do not consider the behavior as infidelity. It is the purpose of this paper to explore this phenomenon, the cyber-affair, and examine the factors influencing it, the unique problems associated with this type of affair, along with a discussion of the therapeutic considerations.
ISSN:1533-2691
1533-2683
DOI:10.1300/J398v04n02_11